Security Summit: Buhari Admits Serious Challenge of Re-settling IDPs

Chris Steven, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has said the challenge before his administration is how to resettle victims of the Boko Haram terrorists sect,who are currently estimated at over two million.
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The President said despite modest gains in decimating the terrorist sect,particularly in the North East states,government is still constrained on how to begin rehabilitation of critical infrastructures destroyed in the wake of the crisis.

Buhari who played host to President Francois Hollande of France at the State House on Saturday,on the occasion of regional security summit, in Abuja,said a comprehensive data base was being gathered to actually ascertain the number of Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) with a view to re-integrating some of the victims to normal livelihood,particularly in the aspect of education and health facilities.

“When we came on board,Boko Haram was controlling about 14 Local Government Areas, where they hoisted flags and declared it a republic or a kind of caliphate of some sort, but now they are not holding any Local Government in captivity.

“They were unduly exploiting available technology in terms of using improvised explosive device on soft targets in Mosques, Churches, markets and motor parks.

‎”Many of those territories they held captives have been freed and now our main problem is rehabilitation of infrastructure destroyed,educational, health, bridges blown.

“We have made a comprehensive survey and very soon we will start to empower them. Most of these IDPs more than 60 percent of them are women and children and more than 60 percent of the children are orphans, this is a pathetic situation and it is a major problem we are going to face in this country,”Buhari said.

President Buhari hosted the second regional summit on security where prominent leaders like Cameroonian President,Paul Biya including representatives from the United States, Britain, Equatorial Guinea, the European Union, ECOWAS, the Economic Community of Central African States and the Gulf of Guinea Commission are all attending in Abuja,to possibly wrap up ongoing military operations against Boko Haram,a sect group believed to have wrecked havoc in North East,Nigeria.

Hollande who responded to questions from State House Correspondents,at the Villa,lauded President Buhari on his effort to degrade the sect.

According to Hollande,”The results are already impressive in the fight against Boko Haram, some very good results are already being obtained.

“This terror group Boko Haram‎ which massacres, terrorizes, attacks and masterminded the abduction of the Chibok school girls in particular have been weakened, forced to move back, forced to loose ground.

“They have been chased about and they had to give up the territories they were controlling and had targeted so that they can still be fought.

“But this has been so, thanks to the determination of President Buhari himself, thanks as well to the coordination of the countries in the region. We will take further measures on how to win the battle at this meeting.

“Thanks also goes to France,which has been taking responsibility, because France had been supporting these actions through intelligence, information sharing, training by providing equipment to support the missions of the Multinational Joint Task Force and it’s been this coalition, solidarity, strategy which has enabled the success we are witnessing today.”